The field of the present invention is layout design for motorcycles.
Motorcycles, particularly scooter type motorcycles, are generally provided with a rear cover which covers an engine and a rear wheel. More particularly, a scooter type of motorcycle in which an engine is placed substantially in front of the rear wheel, an exhaust muffler placed to the side of a rear wheel and a power unit comprised of the engine and a transmission pivotally connected to the body frame and attached to the rear wheel at its other end with a shock absorber placed between the transmission and the body frame is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,574. A similar motor scooter is disclosed in Belgian Patent No. 556,184. However, several problems with motor scooters with this general mechanical arrangement have remained unsolved.
There was in the past a scooter type vehicle which had side frames that extended outwardly from the foot rest to the upper edge of a rear wheel. Bracket supports extended upwardly from this frame to support a seat. A storage compartment was disposed between the seat and the frame. Several problems were encountered by this arrangement including the weight and bulk of the support brackets, the limited amount of room available for the storage compartment, and the fact that the seat and storage compartment had to be removed before the engine could be reached for maintenance or repair.
In motor scooters of the prior art, the storage compartment was limited to such a size as to be unable to accommodate the larger, full face rider helmets. The storage compartment could not be enlarged for several reasons. If the storage compartment were enlarged toward the rear, it was too close in proximity to the fuel tank, and there was the possibility that fuel would splash into the storage compartment. Also, if the storage compartment were expanded toward the engine, there was a danger that the heat from the engine would damage the contents within the storage compartment. Obviously, if the storage compartment were expanded upwardly, the seat would be too high to comfortably accommodate smaller riders.